Teen Fights to Remove ‘Flame Retardant’ Chemicals From Gatorade

Mississippi activist has almost 180,000 signatures on petition

Teen Sarah Kavanagh is pushing PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), the makers of Gatorade, to remove brominated vegetable oil from one of its sports drinks.

The chemical, known as BVO, is a part of Gatorade Thirst Quencher Orange. The Mississippi teen noticed the ingredient in the beverage and later realized that the chemical is used by other companies as a flame retardant, reports The New York Daily News. In Gatorade, it’s used to prevent the flavors from settling out.

Kavanagh has launched a petition on Change.org. As of Wednesday morning the petition had gathered almost 180,000 signatures.

The presence of BVO in drinks has caused some concern among scientists. Other brominated chemicals, when used as flame retardants, can cause brain impairment as well as other health issues. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows for BVO in beverages at concentration no higher than 15 parts per million.